Pumping mechanism



1. F. THOMAS. PUMPING MECHANISM? AFPLlCAi'lON FILED OCT-27,1921.

1,43%41 6 1 Patented Sept. 26, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I. 52

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J. F. THOMAS.

PUMPING MECHANISM.- APPLICATION FlLED 0CT.27. 1921.

Patented Sept. 26, 1922.

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J. F. THOMAS.

PUMPING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED 0CT.27, 1921.

mgmgw v Paten tdsept. 26,1922.

3 SHEETSSHEET 13.

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rename MECHANISM.

Application iu a October 27, 1921."

To all whom it may co-nccm:

e it known that 1,, JAMES F. THOMAS, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Montreal, Province of Quebec, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pumping Mechanism, of

which the following is a. specification.

medium, or for general and the primary ob ect of the invention is to This invention relates to pumping mechanism particularly adapted and constructed for compressing an, elevating or forcing water after the manner. of a ram for use in various capacities as a power generating serviceor supply,

provide a comparatively simple organization oi cooperating elements of the rocking or oscillating type and including a prime factor in the form of a cylinder in which a piston is loosely mounted to freely reciprocats in opposite directions, and thereby dis- I pense with piston connecting or controlling devices and rely solely for positlve actuation of the piston on the gravitation thereof alternately from one end to the other of the prime factor or cylinder to accomplish the desired operation relatively to charges of air or water that may be indrawn into the cyl lnder, or on any other medium to Which the improved mechanism is adapted. it further object of the invention is to provide a mechanism of the class specified comprismg as a prime factor a cylinder :t'ulcrumed for rocking or oscillating'movement and having a piston mounted there n for free gravitating action, the cylinder and piston being provided with means for at all times maintaining a tight oint, tO ZiVOlCl leakage and to render the piston effective in its compressing or forcing action relatively to the medium that may be indrawn into the cylinder. A still further object of the invention is to provide a mechanism. of the class specified, including a primefactor or cylinder having a piston mounted to freely recip-- thereof to automatically charge and discharge the cylinder, and to have in connecrocate therein through gravitating action tionwith the cylinder positive driving means that will insure regular rocking or oscillat 111g movement thereof alternately in opposite directions and to; such an extent as to eifect a full stroke of the piston in therespective operations of charging and discharging the cylinder. v i With these and other QbJQCtS and advantags in view, the inventlon consists'in the Serial no. mean.

construction and arrangement of the several parts which Willbe more fully hereina;:tter

described and claimed.

In the drawings:

Fig, 1 is a side elevation of a mechanism embodying the features of the invention and showing the prime factor dotted lines in full direction; Fig. 2 is a' longitudinal vertical section through the cylinder, a of thesupport for the cylinder being shown;

ig. 3 is a transverse vertical section on the line 33, F ig. 2, on an enlarged scale; Fig. 4 is ahorizontal'section of one extremity of'the cylinder, showing the'piston rocked. position in one at the limit of its stroke and illustrating the intake and discharge pipes, the parts-being shown on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the shifting mechanism for controlling the reverse OP! eration of the driving chain belt, the pulley band being shown in section;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the cylinder and intake and discharge pipes shown on the same scaleas in .Fig. 1, the driving mecha nism being in part omitted;

Fig. 7 is a detail elevation showing portion of the shifting mechanism.

The numeral 5 designates a suppm-tirig iedestal or frame comprisingopposite mem beret having supporting ieet 7 and reduced towards their upper ends, to provide means for applying suitable hearings 8 thereto for 1- opposite trunnions 9 fixed to a prime 'oper or cylinder in atlng factor or cylinder 10 having therein a freely movable and operativel Y unrestrained piston 11 of suitable dimensions and Weight. At opposite ends of the cylinder 10' are laterally projecting heads 12 for attachment of discharge and intake pipesor conduits l8 and 14, the discharge pipe or conduit connected to opposite heads 12 being provided with a central 7 intake pipe or conduit hav 8 a "trail inlet connection or member 1i adapted to be attached or run to a source of supply oi. Water, or be open to the atmosphere for free passage of airthereinto andinto the intake.

The discharge and intake pipes 13 and let connect with both ends of the. mechanism or With the heads 12, to adapt the mechanism for, reversaloi operation or oscillation in a manner which will be more fully here,

discharge eta-1a l5, nd the inat'ter explained, and while Water and air may be referred to as the medium.

12 is formed with an interior chamber 18 and within this chamber is a projecting valve seat 19 of suitable structure for the valve 16, the valve 17 also having a seat 20 in alinement with the connected terminal of the intake pipe or conduit 14. The valves 17 and 17 are mounted to operate in a supporting member 21 extending longitudinally of the head, and in view of the projection of the valve seat 19 fer the valve 17, the said member is a greater distance out-- wardly from the said seat than it is from the seat 20 for the valve 17 The valves 17 and 17 have stems 22 and 23 which are mounted in suitable guides 21 located in the centers of the connectediterminals of the pipes or conduits 13 and 14, and said stems also have means for preventing the valves from turning, as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art. The

valves 16 and 17 are free to move, or are,

unrestricted bysprings or other obstructing devices and operate solely through the action of the piston 11 in its reverse movements through the cylinder 10, so that the pressure of the said piston towards the valve 17 will open the latter and the pressure orforce created within the chamber 18 when the piston moves towards the valve 17 will close the valve 17, and conversely, when the piston moves in the opposite direction is sets up a drawing action on the valve 17 to close the latter, and likewise, on the valve 17 to open the same or move it into the chamber 1 8, sothat a charge of water or air may be drawn into the cylinder 10 by the suction created dueto the movement of the said piston. The member 21 is of such construction that the intake and discharge by means of the opposite connected terminals of the pipes or conduits 14 and 13 will be practically effected without inter ference. The connected terminaLofthe discharge pipe 13 relatively to each head 12 is separated from the connected terminal of the intake pipe 14 to the head by an intermediate partition 25, and it is proposed to supply the interior of each head with a filling or wall of suitable plastic material, as at 26,

. and this plastic structure will be carried out relatively to the valve seats, so that the valves operating upon or contacting or enment.

LIL-30,1216

will form their own seats and maintm'n tight joints relatively thereto. The interior of the cylinder 10 at the top and sides are likewise provided with walls 27 and 28 of suitable plastic material, and the base of the cylinder consists of a metal plate 29 extending the full length thereof and formed with longitudinal grooves 30 on opposite sides of the center, and a central smaller groove 31 wherein are first inserted v a plurality of screws 32 to which reinforcing wires or analogous devices 33 are secured and run lengthwise of the grooves, the latter then being supplied with plastic fillings 3 1 varying in depth in accordance with the depth of the grooves, said fillings being pressed into the grooves and imbedding the heads of the screws as well as the wire reinforce The grooves are practically semi-- circular in cross sectional contour, as shown by Fig. 3, and the plastic fillings 3 1 are flush with the upper surface of the plate 29. The purpose of these plastic fillings 3 1 is to reduce the friction at the bottom of the cylinder, so that the piston may have greater freedom of action, stricted by any tendency to stick or jam during its movement. 'The top and side plastic walls 27 and 28 of the cylinder are also conducive to the reduction of friction to a minimum and provides for a free action of the piston 11 during its reciproeating operation in alternation longitudinally of the cylinder 10. To the bottom of the piston 11 track plates 35 are secured and have depending inverted triangular ribs 36 extending longitudinally thereof, to: fit in correspondingly shaped grooves 37 in the base plate 29 of the cylinder, these track plates and ribs together with the grooves37 maintaining within the cylinder and preventing the same from laterally wobbling or becoming displaced, and thereby insuring a. regularity of wear on the plastic Walls of the cylinder. The interior of the cylinder 10, after it has been provided with the plastic top and side walls 27 and 28, is trued and rendered snug relatively to the piston 11, by supplying the latter temporarily with face plates at opposite ends, which operate to cut or smooth out the said walls or the interior of the cylinder to such dimensions as to permit the piston to have free sliding movement, but at the same time insure a reasonabl tight u After the interior of t e cylinder 10 is trued and the piston 11 given a snug fitting relatively thereto, the face plates may be removed from the opposite ends of the piston. Tn order 'to prevent leakage past the piston, or between the latter and the walls of the e 'linder, plastic packing-s 37 are applied tierearc ind, as shown by if 2, and fitted in grooves38,

or will not be rethe piston 11 in true position respect-ivel y,

and top wires engaging the thehead lzwill be reinforced the members of the posite sides of the the said piston and cylinder 1d into a counter the piston bolts or rods 1 ,aecsae these packings as they wear down by conbe replaced, so to maintain shown in Fig. 2, positioned at opposite extremities of. the .tfackplates and bear, on the till'ingsfi at the bottom and side plastic walls 27 and 28. The purpose ofthe screws andreinforcing plastic fillings 555i is to insure retention of said fillings within the grooves in theeve nt that the walls of the grooves become rusted, which would thereby cause the plastic fillings without the said retention ineans to loosen and create irreguln1 operation or jam the piston in the cylinder. All theparts of the cylinder as well structural devices extending thercaroui'id,

such; as 39 and bolts or rods -10 and analogous strengthening means. The cylinder 1-9 is centrally fu ruined. relatively to pedestal 5, so that; if the piston 11. was disposed centrally within cylinder, or to balance,,but.it will be understood that when the piston shifts from one end to the other of,. the. cylinder, the preponderance. of

weight towards one inder and end will cause the .cylpiston in rockandi be depressed atone end and elevated at the opposite end. In order to provide tell-tale means for the and piston, especially when the is. ism is used to intake and discharge fwater, or otherliquid, an auxiliary attachniont 41 is provided and cons ists of a glass or transparent receptacle or chamber 42 having a top supply connection 43 that may run iroin any source, the said glass or transparent. chamber 422 also having an outlet pe extending from the bottom thereof the contents of the chamber 4-2 11 and filling ticularly between along the top the-spaces parthe plastic packings 37:.

-'i' l iis-auxiliary device will serve as. a telltale to indicate any unusual leakage, and in this instance the contents of the chamber 42 will rapidly flow into the. cylinder and es- 1. leak, l'an-v opera ilknowby observing the iamber 42 and ts contents whether or not ,iston properly working without leak- .re, or in the event of leakage, repair can we made, or the plastio-packings37 may be ireolaced. to restore the non-leaknw associav l 1 tion ofthe' piston with the'cvlinder. The l extend-through the sides of the cylinder shown by Figs. 3 and 4, and

by suitable project equally von op-- vertical center thereof, cylinder would equally.

' ing purtof'the sprocket wheel. is also loose on the shaft of movement of the through the interposed ,gslccve is shifted to alternately through the top portion of the cylinder ecess formed-in the top plastic wall 2?,lll'i6 saidrccess providinga small chamber forthe distribution of with a lower fork bent ternnnalsfi for engagement by strikother part of the the cylinder as shown in dotted lines in Fig.

in ..addition the cylinder walls are provided with a reinforcing Wire gauze structure, as

at 4:0; It is proposed to reinforce the cylin order to strengthen the other points that may be opposite ends of thecylinder in alternation,

vbut one preferred form of operating mechanism consists of an endless chain belt 16 attached to arms 47' projecting outwardly from the opposite extremities of the lower portion of the cylinder and then passing downwardly over a lower idler sprocket 48 at the center of the lower portion of the podestal, as shown by Fig. l. The endless chain belt at extends upwardly over a.

sprocket wheel 49 loose on a drive shaft 50 and having a clutch \hub 51 integral there with. On theshaft 50 a band Policy 52 is keyed and engaged by a belt 53 running from a pulley 54L Oll an upper power shaft 55 that may be a line shaft ofa machine shop or other mechanical "institution. shaft 50 adjacent to the band pulley 52 is a bevel gear 56 in alincmcnt with an opposing similar bevel gear 57 adjacent to or form- Tlic gear 56 50 and between the a transmission bevel so also has a toothed two gears 56 and 5? gear 58. The gear clutch hub 58, and 58 a clutch sleeve slid'ablc onthc shaft motion of this shaftmay be transmitted to either the gear of and the sprocket wheel adjacent vthereto, or the gear 50, the reversal main driving sprocket wheel and the gear 57 being accomplished 50 is splined to and change the direction of movement of the chain belt 46 by a yoke 6i having a depending arm 62 (i3 formcd'with suitably ers 65 projecting from the arms 47 or some cylinder structure, and cylinder 10 is thrown at one end, as shown in dotted lines b Fig. 1, the clutch sleeve 60 willbe shifted through the forked extremity or end 64 to change the direction of movement by bringing diii'erent'gearing into play and to cause and piston to bethrown over from the dotted position shown in F lg; 1 to whereby when the thereverse position, or so that the end or extremity of the cylinder that is uppermost 1 will be lowermost, and this oscillation continues d'urthe gear, and

and between the two hubs 51.

()n the 50 and whereby the gear 58. The clutch i mg the actuation of the chain belt thi'ou h-.

be regularly actuated and the B80 tions and dimensions and minor details of construction of the several parts may be adopted at will without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.

WVhat is claimed as new is:

1. In a mechanism of the class specified, a rocking cylinder having interior plastic walls'and provided with intake and discharge connections at opposite ends, the intake and discharge connections being pr0- vided with reversely opening valves, a piston freely slidable in the cylinder and operable by gravitating movement thereof alternately towards opposite ends of the cylinder, the cylinder and piston being angular in contour and having a snug rela tive fit, a single pipe connection for each inlet and outlet at opposite ends of the cyl inder, and means for rocking the cylinder, piston and connections as a unit.

2. In a mechanism of the class specified. a rocking cylinderformed with walls of plastic material having strengthening means associated therewith and also provided at each end with an intake and discharge opening, the intake and discharge opening at one end of the cylinder being respectively connected to the intake and discharge open-- ings at the opposite end of the cylinder by pipes each having a single opening therein, a freely slidable piston mounted within the cylinder and operable solely by gravitation thereof towards opposite ends of the cy l inder to alternately open and close the valves at the intake and discharge openings at each end of the cylinder, the cylinder and piston being angular in contour and having a snug relative fit, and means for insurin an invariable longitudinal movement 0 the piston 3. In mechanism of the class'spevified, a

rocking cylinder formed with walls of plastic material having transverselyextending heads laterally projecting to one side of opposite ends of the cylinder and provided with interior chambers and passages to form intake and discharge openings which have communication with the said chamhers, the said intake and discharge openings being provided with rcversvly moving valves and the intake and discharge openings of one head being respectively connected by pipes to the same openings of the opposite head, the pipes each being pro-' .opposite ends of t e cylinder, the chamber and piston being angular in contour and having a snug relative fit, and means for rocking the cylinder, piston, heads and intake and discharge connections as a unit alternately in opposite directions.

l. In mechanism of the class specified, a rocking cylinder having interior plastic walls and provided with intake and discharge connections at opposite ends, anda piston freely slidable in the cylinder and operable by gravitating movement thereof alternately towards opposite ends of the cylinder, the cylinder and piston being angular in contour and having a snug relative fit.

5. In mechanism of the class specified, a

rocking cylinder having interior plastic walls and intake and discharge connections, and-a piston mounted to freely slide in the cylinder and provided with plastic packings disposed on opposite sides of the center and surrounding the piston to engage the plastic walls of the cylinder.

6. In mechanism of the class specified, a rocking cylinder having grooves in the bottom thereof and provided with intake and discharge connections, and a piston mounted to freely slide in the cylinder and operable solely by gravitation, the piston having lower ribs to engage the said grooves to maintain the piston in positive operating position within the cylinder.

7. In mechanism of the class specified, a rocking cylinder having plastic walls-and a metal bottom with grooves extending longitudinally thereof, intake and discharge connections atopposite ends of the cylinder, a piston mounted to freely slide in the cyl inder and having plastic packings to engage the walls of the cylinder and the metal bottom, plates secured to the lower portion of the piston and having ribs to engage the said grooves, and means for actuating the cylinder.

8. In mechanism of the class specified, a

rocking cylinder having interior plastic tale to lndicate leakage between; the piston and the walls of the cylinder. Y e 9. In mechanism of the class specified, a

piston mounted to freely melzingz 'oylinder havin tending chambered hea s transversely exdischarge openmgs which have communication through openings and-having a stem projecting outwerdly therefrom, the valve engaging the 10 plastic walls end all of the valves operated at opposite ends the said intake whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JAMES THOMAS. 

